Berlin: 'God Help the Girl,' to Open Generation Sidebar

God Help the Girl, the directorial debut of Belle & Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch, will open this year's Generation sidebar, the children's and youth-focused section of the Berlin International Film Festival, on Feb.7.

Murdoch, along with the films stars Emily Browning, Olly Alexander and Hannah Murray, are set to attend the premiere at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.

God Help the Girl, a story of summer love set against the backbeat of the Glasgow club scene, will open the Generation 14plus section. The French animated film Wolfy, the Incredible Secret, from directors Eric Omond and Gregoire Solotareff, will open the Generation Kplus competition for films targeting younger audiences. Wolfy, one of five feature-length animated films in this year's Generation lineup, tells of the unlikely friendship between a wolf and a rabbit.

Berlin today also named the three-person juries that will judge the Generation Kplus and 14plus films. Dutch filmmaker Boudewijn Koole, whose Kauwboy won last year's Generation Kplus grand prize, as well as the Berlin festival's best first feature honor, will be a judge for this year's Kplus entries, together with Australian director Catriona McKenzie -- special mention winner at Generation 2013 for Satellite Boy -- and German film journalist Christian Bellaj.

The Generation 14plus jury will be made up of director Laura Astorga Carrera (Princesas Rojas), German short filmmaker Jan Soldat and N. Bird Runningwater, head of the Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Program and advisor to the Berlin festival's special series NATIVe which focuses on indigenous cinema.

Both juries will award separate "Crystal Bears: for the Generation section winners.